Yankee Group Says Brand Advertising Is the Next Big Online - "Thing"

Business Wire, July 25, 2007

Media Budgets Will Shift to Internet Video When Measurements Improve

BOSTON -- Yankee Group today announced that the transformation of the internet from a response platform to a brand medium will do more to attract and secure larger budgets from brand advertising. One of the driving forces behind the growth of online brand advertising is the consumer demand for internet-delivered video. With the rise of online video, the internet marketplace is becoming an even bigger, more complex challenge--to which the advertising has yet to adapt. However, transmedia solutions and non-linear content developed for new media acknowledge changing consumer behavior.

According to the recently published Yankee Group Report, The New Persuaders: Brand Advertising Is the Next Big Online Thing, online or broadband video will be the most promising trend for brand advertisers. Online video will be a dominant component of brand advertising for the following reasons:

* Video conveys emotion better than text, images and audio.

* Non-linear online video combines the emotive power of television with the interactivity and measurability of internet advertising.

* Advertising in and around video is consistent with existing consumer expectations of advertising.

* Targeting of online video will continue and radically extend the trend established by the proliferation of cable network channels that established niche audiences to consumer brands.

Despite the growth of internet video, the majority of advertisers have been slow to make effective use of it because the new media measurements only capture the Anywhere Consumer[TM] response. Yankee Group defines the Anywhere Consumer as an individual unfettered by the shackles of time and place, who connects to content, social and commercial interactions at any time from anywhere.

"In this fragmented world emerging from the impacts of global connectivity, brand marketers are questioning the effectiveness and value of large expenditures on traditional advertising," said Anette Schaefer, Yankee Group director of Consumer Research, who coauthored the report with Yankee Group director Mike Goodman. " "In the long term, the internet needs to transform from a response platform to a brand medium to attract and secure larger budgets from brand advertising."

This Yankee Group Report delivers conclusions and recommendations for brand advertisers, advertising agencies and publishers on how to take advantage of this nearly untapped channel. As Anywhere Consumers continue to change the way they engage with advertising communication and take control of it, brands and agencies need to create content that provides a seamless user-experience across platforms and devices.

YANKEE GROUP (www.yankeegroup.com)

The people of Yankee Group are the global connectivity experts[TM]--the leading source of insight and counsel for builders, operators and users of connectivity solutions. For nearly 40 years, Yankee Group has conducted primary research that charts the pace of technology change and its effect on networks, consumers and enterprises. Headquartered in Boston, Yankee Group has a global presence including operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.